Bathing cap



July 22,1930. T. J. HowLAND BA'IHING CAP 'Filed Dec. 2, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet l July 22, 1930. T. J. HowLAND Patented July 22, 1930THOMAS J. ieIwvLArrD ,f` or LONG BRANCH, NEW :rnnsrnr BATHING oer` nApplication le'd December-2, 1929; Serial No. 4113103.

This invention relatesto bathing caps and.

providesfor aI cap whichforms a watertight seal along'its edge andprevents moisturel` from penetrating within the interior` of the posedfor rendering bathing caps watertight,

but none ofrthem have proved very satisfactory asis witnessed by thefactthat bathing` caps at.present on the market usually/con-k sist of asimplefrubber capi A simple rubber y The presentinvention provides. abathing..

cap which` is, adapted to form. a watertight seal along the edgeoftheeap.. This is ac,-j complished without excessive.tightening at theedge portion which wouldl bindthe head-` andcause discomfort tothewearer.V

ly keepoutwater isv to, seal the hol-low vor indentation betweenf thejawv and; thefneck;vr The tightening `ot the edgeof the cap` doesnotisolve theprobfV just beneath the ears.

lem as `the more theA edgeo thecap is tightened, the greater istheltendency to draw away from the skin atthis point.V Y

In my prior Patent No. 1,746,47Ll granted Feb- 11th, 1930, Ilhavefshoiizn one method of filling inthese hollows andV inmyapplication Serial No.` 411,104, iiled DegQ,V 1929 a` secondime-thodis shown. I-lowe'ver,y ithas, been found that it occasionally happensthat wearer where the j aw joins theneck, regard-. 45. less, ofthelparticularrelative position where this hollow occurs in the head ofthev4 wearer, thebathing cap 0f the present .invention is provided witha knot or button-like` member i onl the outsideoi the cap whichr may bead- 540 justed to dife-rent positions. the region of A i great varietyofmethods have been pro.

the ears to depress the edge,oftlfieV eapinto the hollow at thosepointsland thereby form; a watertight seal. The knotis prefelablyf madeadjustable byhaving-it movable along a strap secured -to theoutside ofthemap-Y 5. adjacent the edge thereof.l`

The provision of means for depressingthe edge. 0f a bathing Cap ntOthehnllows inthe region of Vthe ears is particularly important with whatis known as the straight-line bathe UQ.. ing Cap,;which is contrastedwith Manhay-.- lngacurved.contour and; whichyitsndown.. around the ears,necessitating thefuse .oi a.i4 chin strap- Whenv a. ChinStrap-is, useditis no t ,so essential Athat the, edge ogffithefeapbg 6a depressed intothev hollows in. .the reg-ions .oi the ears, as the chin strap lwilltend; .toicause i the cap to. closely fit theA head at mesa-points, butwith a. .straight-line .bathingleap ,there is;

so littletohold the cap incontact withfthef@ Y head Vat the properplaces, that Sonie.means` One of the` great `difficulties; .encounteredin getting a bathing cap which will eiiective-.

for causing it to closely fit the head atthese pointsfbecomesparticularly important. a Foran example of a bathinggcap. embody? ing myinvention reference is` madeto the accompanying drawing in which@ Figurel isa side elevation o i:thebathingV` Capa..

Fs- 2-SA e CPQSS SeCtQn taken throuelll the rim of the cap; l j" V lo iFig- 3;- ls an nlarge'dmss Section. taken throughline-S'ff of Fig. l; vY

Fia, 4 is aninlarged cross. Section taken throughlil@ of Fig. 1; I` iFigs. 5 and 6 are views similar to, Figi, l @a Showinamdatonsi Fie- 7.iS. `will@ View 0f: aroltbinm ofthe. cap showingra furtherInQdifiI-bation;

Fig. Sis a crosszseetion taken. through. .1 -ine 8-.8oi-Fig. 7; i' c;gig. 9, is a View of Ya further .mQdifCatQn, an1 y Fig. 10. Shows the,lYinvention applied`- Lto. an bathingI shoe. A y Y rQ lhe, presentinvention is. shown as. applied to a bathing cap such as is claimed hin'my Patent No- 1,7 46,4717 Vbut it is te be under stood that the,vvinvention may beapplied ,t0 bathing; capsfwllhare not. zprQvfed withlCups Or air. poketscalers theiside Qtits. 1Q?

edge portion, or to bathing caps in which cups or air pockets are formedas shown and claimed in my application Serial No. 411,104.

The bathing cap 10 shown in the drawings is of elastic material and iswhat is known as a straight-line bathing cap, as the lower edge 11isstraight and is not shaped to fit the contour of the head.

Along the inside edge of the cap 10 is attached a band comprising aseries of crossed ribs 12 forming cups or air pockets 13 therebetween,as is more specifically shown and described in my said Patent No. 1,746,47 7.

The elasticity of the material .composing the cap 10 will tend to pressthe lower edge 11 thereof into close engagement with the head of thewearer, and the cups or air pockets by their suction effect will tend tomaintain this engagement and form a watertight seal. However, due to theirregularity of the contour of the head in the region of the ears wherethe jaw joins the neck and forms a hollow or indentation of substantialdepth, the lower edge of the cap will not bear against the head at thispoint. To ensure the lower edge of the cap contacting with the head atthese places, I provide a pressure-exerting member in the form of a knobor button-like member 14 adjustable along a strap 157 which pressesagainst the outer edge of the cap and depresses it into the hollows orindentations in the region of the ears.

The strap 15 is preferably made of rubber and vulcanized to the body ofthe cap, but if desired it may be made of other suitable material andsecured to the cap in any desired manner.

The st-rap 15 normally lies tight against the edge of the cap so thatwhen. the button 14 is placed between it and the cap, it causes theinner side ofthe edge to project inwardly at that point, as is clearlyshown in Fig. 3. Thus when the cap is placed upon the head of the wearerand the button 14 adjusted to a position opposite the hollow ordepression where the jaw joins the neck, it will cause the edge of thecap at that point to be depressed into the hollow until it bears tightlyagainst the head and thereby forms a water tight seal.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the button is secured to the band 15 by havingits outer side, that is, the side remote from the cap, madesubstantiallyY C-shaped with the arms 16 of the C closing around theband 15. The button 14 may be slid along the band 15 to the desiredposition and when released will be frictionally retained in thatposition.

In Fig. 5 the button 17 has an opening therethrough near the outer edgethrough which the strap 15 passes.

In Fig; 6 the button 18 is grooved in its inner and outer sides as'shownat 19 and 20 sorthat beads 21 and 22 will be formed. These beads arefound Lsuiiticient toretain the button in place between the cap and thestrap 15.

In Figs. 7 and 8 the strap 23 is provided with a slot extendinglongitudinally thereof. rIhe button 24 in this case is provided with aheaded stud 25, which passes through a slot 23' in the band 15 and isthereby retained in adjusted position.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a button 24 which is adapted to be used in placeof the button f.

24, shown in Figs. 7 and 8 when it is desired to provide means forvarying the amount of pressure exerted at any one place. rEhe button 24is similar in allrespects to button 24 except that the head portionwhich normally projects outside of the band 15 is made of the same widthas the band. This provides a reversible button having heads of differentthickness so that a relatively small or a relatively large pressure maybe exerted at any one place, depending entirely on which head of thebutton is placed beneath the strap.

l/Vhile the invention is particularly adapted for caps to be used uponthe head of the wearer, it is intended that it may be applied f( to capsfor covering other body members. In Fig. 10 the invention is shown asapplied to a bathing shoe 26. In this case thc straps 27 are positionedon each side of the edge of the upper and near the rear so that thebutton 28 will cause the edge of the upper to be depressed into thehollow of the foot just back of and beneath the ankle,

It will be apparent from the aforegoing that I have provided a veryeffective means for causing a bathing cap to form a watertight seal withthe body of the wearer, and while only one adjustable button has beenshown for causing Athe edge of the cap to be depressed into one hollowor depression on each side of the head or foot, it will be obvious thatadditional straps and buttons could be used if it is found desirable tocause greater pressure to be exerted against the edge of the cap at anyother places.

I claim:

1. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material and meansadjustable peripherally along the cap for causing different portions ofthe edge of the cap to bear tighter against the body of the wearer atcertain places than it normally would.

`2. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material andmeans adjustable peripherally along the cap for causing differentportions of the edge of the cap to bear tighter against the body of thewearer at certain places than it normally would, said adjustable meanscomprising a pressure-ei;- erting member movable with respect to themain portion of the cap. i V

3. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material 'andladjustable means forcausing the edge' of thecap tobear tighter againstthebodyofthev wearer 'at certain places than it normally would, saidadjustable means comprising a pressure-exerting member movable along theoutside of the cap adjacent its edge.

4. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material andadjustable means for causing the edge of the cap to bear tighter againstthe body of the wearer at certain places than it normally would, saidadjustable means comprising a pressure-eX- erting member` movablecircumferentially along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge.

5. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material andadjustable means for causing the edge of the cap to bear tighter againstthe body of the wearer at certain places than it normally would, saidadjustable means comprising a strap and a pressure-exerting membermovable thereon along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge.

6. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material andadjustable means for causing the edge of the cap to bear tighter againstthe body of the wearer at certain places than it normally would, saidadjustable means comprising a strap and a removable pressure-exertingmember mov# able thereon along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge.

7. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material andadjustable means for causing the edge of the cap to bear tighter againstthe body of the wearer at :2; certain places than it normally would,said adjustable means comprising a strap and a pressure-exerting membermovable thereon along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge, saidpressure-exerting member having arms projecting from the side adjacentthe strap and engaging the strap to hold said member in adjustedposition.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature.

THOMAS J. HOWLAND.

